As O Wazamono, Shusui is among the thirty-two best katanas in the world. It is considered the national treasure of Wano Country and is the sword that enabled the legendary samurai Ryuma’s exploits. After many battles by his side, the sword became a black blade. Before acquiring Enma, Zoro was convinced that Shusui was going to be decisive in the battle against Kaido’s Hundred Beasts Crew.
Ryuma’s zombie, having come to life thanks to Brook’s shadow, also uses the latter’s Swordsmanship Style. Combined with his original strength and the power of Shusui, Ryuuma totally reinvented this fighting style, making it far more formidable than the version Brook used. Besides, Zoro commented that if the fight had dragged on, Shusui would have broken his Wado Ichimonji and his Sandai Kitetsu, which are however both very good Meito.
This blade greatly increases the power of its user’s attacks. Zoro demonstrated this by first using Hyakuhachi Pound Ho against Oz; the blade of air created by Shusui was so great that it absorbed the blades of air from Zoro’s two other sabers, Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu, to form a single blade of air with tenfold destructive power.
After receiving Shusui, Zoro stated that its greatest quality is its toughness and that even if a dinosaur stepped on it, the blade wouldn’t bend a millimeter. He demonstrated this by deflecting a punch from Oz with the blade in a horizontal position. As exceptional as this blade is, it still has several flaws.
Among them, its high weight, which requires some time to adapt. Indeed, Zoro immediately notices that it is significantly heavier than his old katana rusted by Shû, Yubashiri, and describes it as “difficult to handle”. Moreover, during his fight against Oz, he judged that he was not yet able to fully master this sword. Thanks to his intensive training with Dracule Mihawk, Zoro was able to overcome Shusui’s flaws, which then became his favorite blade. He shows off his newfound mastery of the blade after the timeskip by slicing a pirate ship in half with disconcerting ease.